Animals in Sri Lankan culture

The perahera elephants

Elephants have walked in temple processions for centuries. At the Kandy Esala Perahera a chosen tusker carries the golden casket of the Sacred Tooth Relic, and famous tuskers such as Maligawa Raja and Nadungamuwa Raja became national figures. Their welfare is debated today, and the law sets rules on how captive elephants are kept and worked.

The lion on the flag

The lion on Sri Lanka’s flag comes from the island’s origin legends, not from living animals: lions are only known here as ice-age fossils.

Jataka tales

Many stories of the Buddha’s past lives, told in temples and schools, feature animals — the hare who offered himself and was placed on the moon, the wise monkey king, the faithful elephant — and teach compassion for living beings.

Village knowledge

Farmers and villagers have long read animal signs: the call of the jungle fowl at dawn, the koel announcing the Sinhala and Tamil New Year season, the monkeys’ alarm calls that warn of a leopard.